Sky-rocketing fruit, vegetable prices hit consumers hard: Assocham

With sky-rocketing prices of fruits and vegetables 55 per cent of middle-class and low-income group households in the country had been forced to switch to processed food to manage their food budget, reveals a survey.

The survey, conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), across the country, polled around 5,000 people to evaluate the impact of price rise in fruits and vegetables. According to the survey report, Rising prices of fruits and vegetables, many middle-class families had resorted to cooking with tomato puree and ketchup as the prices of tomatoes have been between Rs60 and Rs80 in different parts of Delhi.

Releasing the survey report, Assocham's general secretary D S Rawat said the sudden spurt in vegetables prices had seriously hit the ordinary consumer, especially in the metro cities. He added, consumers were now being forced to avoid fresh fruits and vegetables and turn to packaged foods - canned / dried processed food, frozen processed food, meal replacement products and condiments. for instance, a litre of fruit juice cost less than a kilo of fresh fruits, makiong packed fruit juices  a more affordable option.

The  vegetable price rise has come as a shock for the consumer with tomatoes selling at Rs60 per kg, ladyfingers at Rs50/kg and brinjals at Rs40/kg. Capsicum was selling at Rs80 per kg, bitter gourd at Rs80 and bottle gourd at Rs20 per piece. Though cauliflower and cabbage too were available in the market, the going rate for a small piece was Rs55 to Rs60.

Also people chose to buy in bulk instead of buying small quantities of fresh vegetables every few days, as buying in bulk at wholesale centre costs less.

The prices of most of the widely consumed vegetables had shot up over the last two weeks across large parts of the country with the early onset of monsoon.

According to the report the fear of bad monsoons had suddenly led to a three-fold rise in prices of vegetables and fruits from the farm to one's dining table. Rawat added that the upward spiral of prices had brought about great dissatisfaction.

Consequently, about 82 per cent of lower middle-class families had been forced to squeeze their budgets for vegetables and around 87 per cent respondents said they did not even consider buying seasonal or exotic fruits as prices of staple items like potatos, tomatoes and onions alone had stretched their budgets. Due to the high cost, many middle-class families were having to restrict the quantity of their purchases.

Over 52 per cent of those polled said they had to shell out between Rs4,000 to 5,000 on vegetables and fruits every month, which was four times what they spent earlier.

Nearly 75 per cent of women in households said that the soaring prices of fruits and vegetables had put their household budget in a state of disarray and they were are now forced to rethink their daily menus.

The survey was conducted by Assocham Social Development Foundation in major places like Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun.